This is a page to share with you all what we are going through right now; what we are learning, and what we are struggling through, in hopes that we can inspire some of you to research new ways to work through the issues in your own lives.

When Riley started throwing up his "green mix", I had to figure out a way to make it so that he was still able to ingest all of those great live enzymes, nutrients, etc. without upsetting his stomach. I tried using pancreatin, aloe vera juice, lowering the fat content, mixing it with pumpkin and while each would help for a couple of days, none of it seemed to make a big enough difference for him to actually be able to keep it down long term. So what did I do? I got online of course! I decided to figure out a way to make his green mix with only the most important ingredients (since at that point he was not even getting his glucosamine/chondroitin), in a format that I knew he would be able to eat: cooked firm, like a treat. I found some really great basic grain-free recipes at http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/. I decided to go with the liver leather, since I wanted something that was more like a treat, rather than biscuit. I knew that I did not want to use flour, because dogs battling cancer, should ingest as few carbs as possible. I decided to substitute key ingredients in Riley's green mix for the flour in the recipe, and then cook it at a lower temperature to kill as few enzymes as possible. So, with all of this said, here is my first attempt recipe.

Warning: this is adapted to my dog's particular needs, and has not been approved by any vetrinary as safe. Use at your own risk.

Mix ingredients turkey through olive leaf powder in large mixing bowl. Spread out on cookie sheet lined with tin foil. Then cook at 200 degrees for 1hr. Pull out and sprinkle with bee pollen. Put back in the oven for 30 minutes. Turn off oven and let cool. When cool, pull out and roll into 3/4 in balls. Should make about 30, how many I need to last my 70lb boxer one a day for a month. I froze all but what I needed for that week, and kept the rest in the refrigerator.

So, since making those, I found this article on www.housepetmagazine.com about enzymes and how important it is not to cook them over 118 degrees. So, next time I am going to wait to add the probiotics until the mix is cool after cooking, then sprinkle the probiotics on the underside, before rolling into balls. You can find this article at www.housepetmagazine.com/05/enzymes.htm

Riley LOVES these treats, and it is so easy to give! Just pull one out of the fridge and give it to him! I have already seen a big difference in him and this is only his fourth day on these treats!